Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on State Finances for the year 2023-24, Government of Tamil Nadu

The State Finances Audit Report for 2023-24 examines Tamil Nadu's deficits, debt, guarantees, off-budget borrowings and subsidies, its budget execution and the quality of its accounts.

State: Tamil Nadu
Audit period: 1 Apr 2023 — 31 Mar 2024
Presented: 17 Oct 2025

Findings

The fiscal deficit was 3.32 per cent of GSDP in 2023-24, above the three per cent target set under the state's own fiscal responsibility law; outstanding liability including off-budget borrowing was 28.00 per cent of GSDP against a 29.10 per cent limit.
“The fiscal deficit as a percentage of GSDP during 2023-24 stood at 3.32 per cent which was higher than the target of 3 per cent as set under TNFR Act. Outstanding liability (including Off Budget Borrowing) to GSDP was 28.00 per cent as against limit of 29.10 per cent.”Executive Summary
Outstanding guarantees stood at ₹1,22,269.91 crore on 31 March 2024 — 50.16 per cent of the previous year's entire revenue receipts and 4.49 per cent of GSDP.
“The total outstanding guarantees of the State Government were ₹1,22,269.91 crore as on 31 March 2024. This constituted 50.16 per cent of the total revenue receipts of 2022-23 (₹2,43,749.34 crore) and 4.49 per cent of the GSDP (₹27,21,571 crore at current prices). No guarantee was invoked during the year.”Executive Summary
The State's overall debt grew at an average 15.62 per cent a year over 2019-24, with the debt-to-GSDP ratio rising from 24.35 per cent in 2019-20 to 28.00 per cent in 2023-24.
“As per the Debt Stabilisation Analysis, the overall debt of the Government of Tamil Nadu has grown on an average at the rate of 15.62 per cent annually of the outstanding overall debt between 2019-20 to 2023-24. Debt-GSDP ratio has increased from 24.35 per cent in 2019-20 to 28.00 per cent in 2023-24.”Executive Summary
The revenue deficit was ₹45,121 crore in 2023-24 — 1.66 per cent of GSDP — with revenue expenditure of ₹3,09,718 crore against revenue receipts of ₹2,64,597 crore.
“During the current year, there was an excess of revenue expenditure (₹3,09,718 crore) over revenue receipts (₹2,64,597 crore), thereby resulting into revenue deficit of ₹45,121 crore.”Chapter I
Subsidies rose from ₹20,144 crore in 2019-20 to ₹37,749 crore in 2023-24 — from 9.57 to 12.19 per cent of revenue expenditure — with a further ₹801.77 crore on implicit subsidies; ₹1,672.01 crore of off-budget borrowing was raised through a public sector undertaking.
“Within the non-committed expenditure, there is an increasing trend of subsidies, which increased from ₹20,144 crore in 2019-20 to ₹37,749 crore in 2023-24 i.e., from 9.57 per cent of the total revenue expenditure in 2019-20 to 12.19 per cent in 2023-24. Apart from this, the State Government also spent ₹801.77 crore on implicit subsidies... The State Government, through Public Sector Undertaking, raised ₹1,672.01 crore as off-budget borrowings.”Executive Summary

Findings

The fiscal deficit was 3.32 per cent of GSDP in 2023-24, above the three per cent target set under the state's own fiscal responsibility law; outstanding liability including off-budget borrowing was 28.00 per cent of GSDP against a 29.10 per cent limit.

“The fiscal deficit as a percentage of GSDP during 2023-24 stood at 3.32 per cent which was higher than the target of 3 per cent as set under TNFR Act. Outstanding liability (including Off Budget Borrowing) to GSDP was 28.00 per cent as against limit of 29.10 per cent.”Executive Summary

Outstanding guarantees stood at ₹1,22,269.91 crore on 31 March 2024 — 50.16 per cent of the previous year's entire revenue receipts and 4.49 per cent of GSDP.

“The total outstanding guarantees of the State Government were ₹1,22,269.91 crore as on 31 March 2024. This constituted 50.16 per cent of the total revenue receipts of 2022-23 (₹2,43,749.34 crore) and 4.49 per cent of the GSDP (₹27,21,571 crore at current prices). No guarantee was invoked during the year.”Executive Summary

The State's overall debt grew at an average 15.62 per cent a year over 2019-24, with the debt-to-GSDP ratio rising from 24.35 per cent in 2019-20 to 28.00 per cent in 2023-24.

“As per the Debt Stabilisation Analysis, the overall debt of the Government of Tamil Nadu has grown on an average at the rate of 15.62 per cent annually of the outstanding overall debt between 2019-20 to 2023-24. Debt-GSDP ratio has increased from 24.35 per cent in 2019-20 to 28.00 per cent in 2023-24.”Executive Summary

The revenue deficit was ₹45,121 crore in 2023-24 — 1.66 per cent of GSDP — with revenue expenditure of ₹3,09,718 crore against revenue receipts of ₹2,64,597 crore.

“During the current year, there was an excess of revenue expenditure (₹3,09,718 crore) over revenue receipts (₹2,64,597 crore), thereby resulting into revenue deficit of ₹45,121 crore.”Chapter I

Subsidies rose from ₹20,144 crore in 2019-20 to ₹37,749 crore in 2023-24 — from 9.57 to 12.19 per cent of revenue expenditure — with a further ₹801.77 crore on implicit subsidies; ₹1,672.01 crore of off-budget borrowing was raised through a public sector undertaking.

“Within the non-committed expenditure, there is an increasing trend of subsidies, which increased from ₹20,144 crore in 2019-20 to ₹37,749 crore in 2023-24 i.e., from 9.57 per cent of the total revenue expenditure in 2019-20 to 12.19 per cent in 2023-24. Apart from this, the State Government also spent ₹801.77 crore on implicit subsidies... The State Government, through Public Sector Undertaking, raised ₹1,672.01 crore as off-budget borrowings.”Executive Summary